Owner	Pose
Brainiac 5	It's not STEALING if you use your fabricated identity to work as IT, is it. Yes, that's right, Earl Docks is now working at Star LABS. He took the midnight shift, when there's nobody around to bother him, and he's been weeding through these primitive computer systems, ironing out bugs and maybe OCCASIONALLY taking a peek at some top-level info. Hey, it's a fair trade. He's doing them a favor, and besides, this is an emergency. Still, he squints behind the spectacles he doesn't need to wear, and takes a moment to turn off his image inducer, because it's making his teeth itch. Then a holographic image pops up in front of him. "Energy surge in the cold labs?" Curious... Meanwhile, in the Cold Labs - "All right." The four intruders are wearing black body-suits. "The stone worked." The leader tosses it up in the air. "These guys can catch any amount of tech, but a little bit of magic? You know what we want. It's wrought metal matrix with the *red* stone."
Brainiac 5	It's not STEALING if you use your fabricated identity to work as IT, is it. Yes, that's right, Earl Docks is now working at Star LABS. He took the midnight shift, when there's nobody around to bother him, and he's been weeding through these primitive computer systems, ironing out bugs and maybe OCCASIONALLY taking a peek at some top-level info. Hey, it's a fair trade. He's doing them a favor, and besides, this is an emergency. Still, he squints behind the spectacles he doesn't need to wear, and takes a moment to turn off his image inducer, because it's making his teeth itch. Then a holographic image pops up in front of him. "Energy surge in the cold labs?" Curious... Meanwhile, in the Cold Labs - "All right." The four intruders are wearing black body-suits. "The stone worked." The leader tosses it up in the air. "These guys can catch any amount of tech, but a little bit of magic? You know what we want. It's wrought metal matrix with the *red* stone."
Vorpal	Vorpal was running a patrol in order to clear his mind, think of something that might help him come up with a solution for Marinette's problem. So far, he had come up with a big fat zero. It was -depressing-. As he sits on the edge of a building, letting his feet dangle in the air, he senses something that makes the fur on the back of his head stand up. He know the feeling, alright- magic. And it's strong enough that he can sense the wake of it. That's not something good. Anything that wild. Without really thinking about it, he opens a Rabbit Hole and jumps through it, focusing on the feeling- And he lands in a crouch in the cold labs. "... I wonder ..." His fluctuating luck has bitten hi inn the rear, since he has landed with his back to the four individuals. He will not see them right away. They, on the other hand?
Brainiac 5	One of them pulls a gun. They did bring SOME tech with them -- and it fires a bolt of energy that expands and flares outward into a glowing net. Which tries to wrap around the intruder, pinning his arms, and then dragging him to the floor. "Grrr." The leader gestures. "Find it!" Meanwhile, our humble (ha) IT hero is proceeding apace to the Cold Labs, using a small device he jury-rigged on the way to bypass the security. Meanwhile, they're ransacking the lab, before one of them smashes a case and pulls it out, holding it up in bot hands. "Found it!"
Vorpal	"Damnit!" Vorpal 'oofs' as he hits the ground, his arms pinned quickly followed by the rest of him. The cheshire cat tries to roll on his back to get a better look of whomever it was that attacked him, but he finds that the net is holding him fast! He can't move, so he can't fight. He can't use his power to breathe life into things because he can't touch anything. His rabbit holes aren't useful because he's, basically, tied up like a sausage. Even if he were to open one under himself, all he'd be able to do is flop around from hole to hol in midair like some sort of dinnerside entertainment. He vanishes, as does the netting holding him. It's a cheap trick, but invisibility may buy him a few seconds. It doesn't, however, buy him a ticket out of this net. He begins to struggle. Quietly.
Brainiac 5	"Where'd he go?" The leader growls, and grabs the power source. "Give me that." Then he uses the stone, and there is a flash of red light, as a skull-shaped portal opens, shimmering in the air. That's when the door to the lab opens, and the midnight-shift IT guy comes in. "Take him!" The other three goons open fire with their high-tech guns, which burst around him in colorful blasts of energy and the shimmer of some previously invisible field. Then the IT guy's image inducer fails, revealing that he's. Uh. Green. "Damn." Then the ringleader takes the device and jumps through the portal... which shuts behind him. His co-conspirators are on their own. You manage to wriggle one wrist free from the net. From there, it's a simple matter to extract yourself.
Vorpal	A Chat Noir would say, claws out! Vorpal manage to work himself free of the netting- for the most part. He becomes visible to attract the attention of the goon away from the newcomer. "Hey, A-holes!" The cat starts running towards them, "You forgot about m-AH!" Dear Princess Celestia, Today I learned something incredibly valuable in my ever-ongoing quest to become a better superhero. When you free yourself from nets, make sure there aren't any around your feet. Yours, truly, Twilight Vorpal. "OW!" That faceplant was, simply, epic. Cats don't always land on their feet, and this one might have also gotten a broken nose. It's too early to see. But right now, he makes a very good target.
Brainiac 5	Which is when one of the gunmen turns around--and the green intruder grabs him, and swings him into the other two. KLUDD! And down they go. Then he disarms them, the guns floating up held in that shimmering energy field, before he floats by them and frowns. "The Riddle Box." He says, "Unidentified energy power source." He makes a face. "Grife." Then he turns, and lands, before he reaches down to help Vorpal up. "Are you all right?
Vorpal	Vorpal takes the hand and pulls himself up, "Dank yoo" he mutters, and rubs his nose. Alright. Not broken, that's good. "That was seven shades of embarrassing right there..." the cheshire cat mutters, and then he pauses, taking a good stock of his rescuer. "And you're one shade of green..." Green. Purple and black. The hair color is wrong, but the spiky 'do is about right. "You look familia... wait! You're Garfield Logan, aren't you? Beast Boy? I'm a huge fan!" He didn't see him turn into any animals, but he had his face against the floor for much of that fight. Although he's followed Logan's career, he hasn't really seen pictures of him that aren't four years old. Sure, he went and saw 'Keanu' in the movie theaters (don't judge him), but he spent all of the time playing a cat.
Brainiac 5	That makes Querl quirk one corner of his mouth up. "No," He says, "I'm not Beast Boy. I'm Brainiac Five." He looks around, as the lab's security systems begin to come back on line. "Well, this job was nice while it lasted." He says. Then he murmurs, "Unidentified power source. Magic. Feh!" He looks to Vorpal. "You should get out of here before STAR's security systems trap you inside."
Vorpal	"... oh jeebus," Vorpal mutters. Fur doesn't really show blushing, but in this case, it's a miracle he hasn't turned red from head to toe. "Sorry... you're awesome whomever you a-" Pause. "Brainiac? As in..." OH, right. Security. "Come with me," he says, holding out his hand, "I have a way to get us out of here undetected." Hey, it was the least he could do to make it up to the guy for being such a dingus.
Brainiac 5	"I am the fifth iteration of Brainiac, originating one thousand years in the future. Give or take." Querl tilts his head, and then, after a moment's contemplation, he grips Vorpal's forearm. "All right." He says.
Vorpal	"Hold on. This is going to get bumpy." The floor drops away from them. Below them, the city stretches on for miles and miles in the distance. It's quite a sight, which means they are very, very high above the city. Many, many miles, and the air is cold. They're also in a freefall. "Sorry!" Before the Legion ring can be used ,however, another Rabbit Hole appears, and then another, and another- and soon they are careening across the cityscape hopping from hole to hole, each one angled differently in order to build momentum with gravity. It's not unlike a rollercoaster, although this one seems to be made exclusively out of sheer terror. Eventually they slow down, and the last few holes are geared towards slowing momentum, and then deposit them softly on the still-wet grass of a park near the waterfront, deserted at this hour. "There... I think we've put enough distance..." he says, sounding completely unaffected by the blurry terror ride he just performed.
Brainiac 5	Brainiac 5 takes a moment to reorient himself. "That was nauseating." He says, before he brushes himself off, and stands straight. "Still, thank you very much." Then he tilts his head and extends his hand, more politely. "Unfortunately I wasn't able to stop them from stealing the Riddle Box." Then he looks up, as the police sirens approach STAR Labs. "Unfortunately precisely what they want to do with it, I couldn't begin to guess. Not my area of expertise."
Vorpal	Vorpal takes his hand and shakes it, "The riddle box? What exactly is it? I sensed something magical in the area, which is why I came in. Obviously, I wasn't prepared." He smirks. "I'm eighteen. I know, hard to gauge age when you're covered in fur, but I'm eighteen... and rather very new at all of this. Thank you for saving my hide back there, how can I make it up to you?" He sits down on the grass, for a moment, to rest after exerting himself. "I could buy you dinner, if you're hungry. I want to know more about this Riddle Box that was stolen. Where exactly was I, by the way?" He never saw the outside of the labs facility, he merely followed the wake of magic to rabbit hole there.
Brainiac 5	"Well that's not really new to me, I wasn't that much younger than you when my career began." Though he can't really be past his mid-twenties. "I'm not sure. Some sort of power source contained within a puzzle box with a purpose the STAR scientists hadn't been able to determine, likely because they'd have to open the box and they're not stupid." He hovers in the air. "You were in STAR Labs, Metropolis. Also, don't worry about that, I'm not hungry, but I do appreciate the offer." See? He's almost mastered expressing gratitude for social niceties. "Unfortunately revealing myself did set my plans back a bit. But I'll adjust."
Vorpal	"Oh, I see. STAR labs... funny." Vorpal nods. "Then.... er, I guess you'll be on your way, then, what with you being a time traveler and the danger of ruining the time-space continuum by talking to someone from ten centuries ago?" He's been watching too many movies. Maybe. "... that is sort of neat. And, er, sorry for mistaking you for Beast Boy. I haven't met any green-skinned people before." OH god. Did he really just say that?" I like green skin, by the way." NO, wrong thing to say. At least he can't say that some of his friends are green-skinned, because that's a lie. Among the other things that his new body didn't come with was a manual on intergalactic diplomacy between different races.
Brainiac 5	"Actually I'll be here for the forseeable future. And the time-space fractal is more resilient than most realize." He tilts his head and raises his eyebrows, before he says, "Well, if I'm going to be mistaken for someone else, at least I was mistaken for a movie star. All Coluans have green skin. But you'd hate it there." Then he lands, slowly, and says, "Actually I was working the 'graveyard shift' so I suddenly find myself with nowhere to go."
Vorpal	"Did I just get you fired?" The cat realizes that his appearance at the basement may have caused Brainiac 5 to reveal himself. "Oh man, I'm sorry." He gets up and starts walking, because walking through the park is something you, even at night. He doesn't think omeone will be stupid enough to try to mug THEM. "Why would I hate it over on... Colua? Where is Colua, by the way? I mean, in comparison to Earth?" He's never quite met an alien before. This is very instructive.
Brainiac 5	"It wouldn't be the first time. Where I come from, I acquired a not undeserved reputation for workplace accidents." He crosses his arms, and then says, "Colu. It's on the other side of the Galaxy. Even now, its technology is centuries ahead of Earth standard. Coluans are known for their advanced intelligence relative to other sentient beings, with Brainiacs standing at the apex of the Coluan intellectual curve. Though some Brainiac iterations are as I understand it entirely robotic, or partially cybernetic. I only have minor cybernetics." Then he tilts his head. "You look like several alien species I've encountered during my era, actually."
Vorpal	Vorpal looks at Brainiac with a raised eyebrow, "Implying I wouldn't enjoy it on Colua because I would, basically, be the village idiot?" The cheshire cat smirks "I guarantee you, I'm not like any alien species you have ever encountered," he adds, with a certain tinge of arrogant mystery. Because his pride has to feel a little bolstered somehow.
Brainiac 5	"Among other things." Querl opines, his arms still crossed, as he hovers a few inches above the ground. "Well, yes." He smirks, "Felinoids I've encountered tend to be graceful, and you fell on your face." A light tease. Then his smirk turns into a full-fledged smile. "Though none of them ever joined the Legion."
Vorpal	The cat smirks and leans forward, to stare into Brainiac's eyes with a wry expression. "DO you want to earn another ride on my Rabbit Hole? Keep it up. I may want to see what Coluan puke looks like." But there's something that makes him curious. "Joined... league? You mean the Justice League? Well..." he deflates. "There go my future aspirations. Man, I thought you weren't supposed to divulge future information like that. That hurts in the ol' ego, you know." Because he did always have that dream that, maybe, someday...
Brainiac 5	"Oh, no. In the era I come from, I'm part of an organization called the Legion of Super-Heroes. It was inspired by the Justice League. Unfortunately, something happened, and those of us who are trapped here -- how many I don't yet know -- aren't able to go home." He taps his Legion flight ring. "But simply because I'm trapped in this era doesn't mean I cease being a Legionnaire." Then he says, "I told you, the time space fractal is more resilient than you think! So the short answer is, don't worry about it."
Vorpal	"Huh, everybody's got a super-group these days." Vorpal looks at the Legion ring, and tries to tap it, too. "Neat. I've been going at it solo for a while, to be honest. It's a bit of a lonel, frustrating thing... huh. You're a man out of time. How are you handling it? I mean,you've gotten yourself a place to live, means to eat, all of that?"
Brainiac 5	"I'm extremely smart." Querl says. "I can adapt." He grins, and says "It's made out of Valorium, which may or may not be the aame material as Thanagarian Nth Metal, however I discovered it, so I got to name it." Then he says, "For the time being, but the teammates I've been able to locate and I are planning for when we locate others, and we're laying the groundwork for going to Space. It would be best if we were able to get out of the way on a moment's notice, you know?"
Vorpal	"Right, so you'll be off to space and... back to your time, somehow?" Vorpal hms. "It must be nice having a team to watch your back." He walk in silence for a little while, and then says "Back where you come from... do they remember the heroes from this time period?"
Brainiac 5	"Eventually, but it may take a long time. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. The Legion is more than a team, or an organization," Querl says, "It's a family, dedicated to carrying on an example. The super-heroes from this era, from others, they're the example that was set." "The future's not a perfect place. There's still bigotry, corruption, greed, evil-minded people who do terrible things. But the heroes of the past earned our tomorrow... and that's what we do. We work to make sure that tomorrow comes to pass, hopefully just a little bit better than the time before. And that's true no matter where or when we are. It took me a... long time to realize that."
Vorpal	A wry smile. "Dear heavens, it almost sounds like if I were to scratch that green layer of snark and smugness I might just find an idealist." He mock claws at Brainiac's forearm, but doesn't draw his claws. He stops by a bench and sits down. "Do you have a job, back where you come from, or do you get to do this for a living?"
Brainiac 5	"We were a subsidized law enforcement aspect of the government of our era," Querl responds. "Here, we need to explore alternate revenue streams but the Legion is not, and won't ever be a for-profit enterprise." Then he says, "As far as the idealism goes, that's actually what my name means. 'Querl' is Coluan for 'Idealist'. Or 'Naive', depending on how you inflect it."
Vorpal	"I'm going to go for idealist. You seem too smug to be truly naive," he says, getting his revenge for that graceful tease. He looks up at Querl, "Querl. It's an interestsing name. Your people must have been hiding under the table when they handed out the vowels. Now, my name is a perfect example of pleasant sonority. I'm Thomas. Or Tommy. You can call me Tommy. Call me Tomcat and you die," he says, smirking.
Brainiac 5	"Well, Tom," Brainy says, "Coluan does tend to go hard on the L-sounds. Vril. Querl. Colu. As a language it's been wedded to mathematics with the goal of creating the perfect speech for scientific endeavor." He says, "It's very nice to meet you. Try to check behind you when you teleport into a room, hmm? Or find friends who have your back."
Vorpal	"Touche." Vorpal smirks. "I guess you can call me Vorpal, if it pleases your tendency for that particular consonant. That's what I go by here, anyways." He thinks about something for a second. "You know.... if you eve have room for a greenh-" pause. "Wet behind the ears rookie," better, "I'm not really hanging out with anyone right now."
Brainiac 5	Querl considers that, and then he says, "The Legion's a democratic organization. For that, we'd need to see what you can do. Then we'd need to hold a vote. But for now, since I'm the leader until we can hold an election and get out of emergency status," He reaches down to his belt and takes out a little device, which he holds out. It looks almost like a fidget clicker. "Push this button, and I'll get your location. If we need to call in a friend, I'll be able to reach you from it, too."
Vorpal	"I'll keep this safe." The cat says, and then puts his hand into the hole that appears in reality and deposits it next to his nightstand, back at his apartment. "What?" He smirks, "Look at what I'm wearing. I barely have room for myself, much less /pockets/." He tugs at the fabric. "Fortunately, I carry my own pockets with me. Speaking of which..." He reaches into said dresser and brings out his wallet. He takes out a small rectangle and hands it to Querl. "This is my card," he says as the Rabbit Hole closes. "It has my address, email, etcetera, if you need to find me in a less than urgent way. Just don't teleport to me if I'm in the shower or something like that." He pauses. "Actually, I take showers late at night because this," he gestures to the fur on his arm, "This takes about an hour to dry. Please try not to have emergencies late at night, I look absolutely ridiculous when soaked."